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The Last Days of Beautiful Luang Prabang

April 11, 2023
UNESCO experts insist that a huge dam would destroy the “authenticity and integrity” of the World Heritage Site in Laos. Activists say dam operators and…
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‘Our Mekong is dying’: Locals reel from fish crisis as dams sprout up from Laos to China

July 10, 2022
Once teeming with fish, the river is now filled with forlorn fisherfolk who say they’re lucky to have catch at all, as more hydropower dams…
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For Thai fishers facing dwindling catches, a Lao dam looms large

June 10, 2022
Laos plans to build a $2 billion, 684-megawatt dam on the Mekong River, just 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) from the Thai border. The proposed Sanakham…
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A Very Dangerous Dam

January 15, 2022
This wonderful oasis of Lao culture Mekong heritage is under threat from more dams along the endangered Mekong In 1995 Luang Prabang became a UNESCO-recgonised…
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In Laos, a ‘very dangerous dam’ threatens an ancient world heritage site

December 10, 2021
The government of Laos plans to build a 1,460-megawatt hydroelectric dam upstream of the ancient city of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The…
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The Threat of a Dam Disaster in Luang Prabang

July 17, 2021
The dam near Luang Prabang – both a World Heritage site and an seismically active zone – is “an irresponsible gamble,” experts argue.   Credit:…
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Why Thailand should step in to halt the Luang Prabang dam project

July 15, 2021
Thailand does not need the power from the Lao dam and, to honour its Unesco commitments, can help pull the plug in the Thai developer’s…
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The Last Farewell to the Mighty Mekong

September 2, 2020
The shrinking Tonle Sap, the river’s “beating heart,” is the latest wake-up call of the damage wrought by dams. A river barge carries sand on…
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Luang Prabang Threatened by Proposed Dam

June 30, 2020
World heritage site vulnerable to earthquake possibility, Thai specialist says   Photo by Tom Fawthrop A leading Thai geologist is warning that a huge new…
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Who Will Save The Endangered Culture Heritage & Biodiversity Of Luang Prabang On The Mekong?

April 4, 2020
This wonderful oasis of Lao culture Mekong heritage is under threat from more dams along the endangered Mekong     In 1995 Luang Prabang became…
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Who Will Save Luang Prabang?

March 4, 2020
The World Heritage site in Laos is endangered by mega-projects and Mekong dams. Laos’ ancient royal capital, dating back a thousand years, offers a magical…
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Has Vietnam doomed its own delta?

February 4, 2020
A policy reversal on Mekong dams has put Hanoi’s credibility – and the river’s fate – on the line. The recent decision by a Vietnamese…
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Dams and Climate Change Kill the Mekong

November 28, 2019
Rivers contribute to transport, tourism, hydropower and resources including fish and freshwater. Yet excessive drought, dam-building and other development can ruin rivers. That is happening…
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Vietnam is suffering a strategic setback at the Mekong river battlefront

September 11, 2019
It has been 62 years since the United Nations gave birth to the Mekong River Committee and 24 years since the establishment of the Mekong…
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The Mekong is mighty no more: demise of the great river system lamented in Brian Eyler’s new book

February 28, 2019
Review | The Mekong is mighty no more: demise of the great river system lamented in Brian Eyler’s new book. Author sounds a stark warning…
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Laos’ Dam Disaster May Not Be Its Last

August 2, 2018
The cost-cutting and lack of oversight that led to the dam’s collapse plague other hydropower projects across the country. The Lao dam disaster in Attapeu…
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Thai energy review could lead to suspension of Mekong dam

June 14, 2018
Will the delay to the Pak Beng dam in Laos on the Mekong trigger a wider review of hydropower plans on the river? A major…
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The Unfolding Mekong Development Disaster

April 18, 2018
How China’s grand strategy for the Mekong impacts the river, and the countries downstream. The Mekong has long cast a mystical spell over adventurers, wildlife…
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Mekong: more dams, more damage

March 28, 2018
Asia’s great river is under growing threat from hydropower. The great biodiversity and precious resources of the Mekong are increasingly endangered by the rush to…
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Vann Molyvann

November 2, 2017
One of over 100 Vann Molyvann creations between 1956 -1970 blending ancient Angkorian with French modernist style Vann Molyvann designed buildings taking to keep them…
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Vietnam urges Laos to rethink Mekong River dams

May 18, 2017
Can Tho  – Vietnam wants Lao to reconsider the Pak Beng hydropower project as its environmental impacts to the Mekong Delta will strike Vietnam, Cambodia and…
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Thai resistance to China’s downstream ambitions

May 16, 2017
Beijing’s plan to blast rocks and rapids in the Mekong River to make way for bigger boats and faster trade is strongly opposed by grass…
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Lao cultural treasure faces river trade dilemma

May 16, 2017
China’s plan for the Mekong River envisions a big new commercial port at Luang Prabang, a United Nations designated World Heritage site and heart of…
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What Rivers With Rights Mean for the Mekong

April 18, 2017
In what should be welcome news for the many concerned about the future of the Mekong, an Indian court has recognised the Ganges and the…
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Blasting the Mekong

February 10, 2017
A proposal to establish a wider channel for commercial shipping on the Mekong has sparked outrage among environmentalists, writes Tom Fawthrop   Hundreds of Thai NGOs…
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Mekong in crisis: Thailand plans to blast isles in the river to make way for Chinese cargo boats

February 6, 2017
The Thai government has moved ahead with the plan to boost trade, sparking outrage among environmentalists.   Hundreds of Thai NGOs are mobilising a campaign…
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The Last Undammed River

July 25, 2016
Saving the Salween: Southeast Asia's last major undammed river Tom Fawthrop, 13th June, 2016 The free-flowing Salween is the last big undammed river in Southeast…
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Fish-friendly? A dam takes shape, but fierce opposition continues

January 7, 2016
ALONG the banks of the Mekong in Laos, the forest has been stripped and the mountainside gouged out. Construction of the Xayaburi dam, the first…
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From Havana With Love

December 1, 2015
FROM HAVANA WITH LOVE  a new documentary by Tom Fawthrop, Eureka Films production 2015-6. How many people in the world would guess correctly, which country…
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Healing Africa The Havana Prescription

September 17, 2015
HEALING AFRICA THE HAVANA PRESCRIPTION  a Eureka Films documentary by Tom Fawthrop 2017 How many people in the world would guess correctly, which country in…
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The Great Gamble on the Mekong

August 4, 2015
GREAT GAMBLE ON THE MEKONG TRAILER
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Growing Mekong Controversy

December 29, 2014
Mekong consultants have exposed serious flaws in the Don Sahong Dam project, which continues regardless. A battle is raging over the swirling currents, the rock…
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The Great Gamble On The Mekong

December 3, 2014
THE MIGHTY KHONE PRAPENG FALLS SIPANDON SOUTHERN LAOS pic Tom Fawthrop Eureka Films has just completed a second film about the dams on the Mekong.Scientists have…
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WHERE HAVE ALL THE FISH GONE? Mekong Documentary

December 2, 2014
Where have all the fish gone, a documentary directed by Tom Fawthrop, examines how the cascade of dams being built on the Mekong river is…
Mekong all articlesMyanmarLaos

Experts renew quake fears over Xayaburi dam on Mekong River in Laos

April 8, 2014
Thai geologist notes the massive barrage on the Mekong lies close to fault zones; contractor insists seismic guidelines are being followed Earthquake experts have renewed…
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SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE a film documentary

February 18, 2014
How Cuba developed a first-rate health system despite crippling economic problems inflicted by the more than 50 years of the US trade embargo.   for…
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Where Have All the Fish Gone? Killing the Mekong Dam by Dam

February 18, 2014
“If the Mekong is destroyed, the fishery, according to estimates, will be reduced by something like between 40 percent to 60 percent.” A documentary showing…
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Violence against Muslims on the rise in Burma

February 14, 2014
KILLING IN THE NAME OF BUDDHA - How a well-funded minority of Buddhist monks backed by some high-ranking officials have orchestrated a murderous campaign against…
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Killing Muslims In The Name Of Buddha

February 14, 2014
KILLING IN THE NAME OF BUDDHA - How a well-funded minority of Buddhist monks backed by some high-ranking officials have orchestrated a murderous campaign against…
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Cambodia: Human rights defender threatened for opposing hate speech

February 14, 2014
Cambodia has come a long way since the brutal Pol Pot regime, but the recent flood of hate-mail and death-threats sent to the president of…
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The Mekong must run free!

December 14, 2013
The Mekong is among Southeast Asia's greatest rivers, sustaining tens of millions from its abundant fisheries and its floodwaters which both irrigate and fertilise. But…
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Trouble on the Mekong

July 2, 2013
Europe’s Pöyry Energy and its controversial role as Xayaburi dam consultant have been challenged under new OECD CSR rules. Its turbulent currents snake their way…
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Finnish firm Poyry defends role in approval of massive dam in Laos

November 22, 2012
Controversial project will spark water conflicts along Mekong, Environmentalists and NGOs say The consulting firm that gave Laos a green light for a controversial dam…
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Finnish firm Poyry defends role in approval of massive dam in Laos

November 22, 2012
Controversial project will spark water conflicts along Mekong, Environmentalists and NGOs say The consulting firm that gave Laos a green light for a controversial dam…
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River elegy – Laos admits work is going ahead on a controversial dam

November 3, 2012
THE Mekong river, snaking its way through the heart of South-East Asia, has long sustained the world’s biggest and most productive inland fishery, supplying protein…
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Battle for the Mekong Heats Up

August 2, 2012
The Mekong, a precious jewel of Southeast Asia, has become a critical battleground between hydropower dam projects and the survival of the world's greatest freshwater…
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Lies, dams and statistics – Squabbling intensifies between the four countries that share its waters

July 26, 2012
A DENSE cloud of diplomatic doublespeak hangs over the turbid waters of the Mekong. An amazing week of conflicting statements, stark contradictions and confusion has…
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Opening the floodgates – A giant dam is about to be built. Protests are about to erupt

May 5, 2012
WHAT looked like an admittedly temporary reprieve for the swift currents and extraordinary biodiversity of the Mekong river is now over. In December the Mekong…
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One dam thing after another – Though the Mekong is in peril, riparian governments seem oddly insouciant

November 12, 2011
CLIMATE change threatens the Mekong river, continental South-East Asia's lifeblood, at both source and mouth. As glaciers shrink in the Tibetan Himalayas from where the…
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Mekong conundrum: does dammed mean damned?

October 18, 2010
The roaring currents of the Mekong have long enchanted travellers, inspired explorers and sustained about 65 million people living off the world's largest freshwater fisheries.…